Tennis and Love
by iluvstorys
Summary: Echizen Rihomi is trying to run away from the game she loved by joining Rikkaidai, where nobody knows her. Or so she thinks, but fate has other plans. Now its up to him to make her fall in love with the game again and confront her fear. (She can be considered a very OoC fem!ryoma / femryo / or an OC. There will be a canon ryoma later)
1. Chapter 1

The dark haired girl looked at the almond eyes of her reflection one last time before picking up her school bag, hesitantly looking back at another bag leaning against the wall and making her way out of her silent apartment. Her new school's uniform fit her well enough to flatter her toned figure despite the colors and attracted a lot of appreciative glances. She reached the gates of the school she had carefully selected and was pleased to see the lack of familiar faces- not that she had expected any, having lived in America until two weeks ago. She had even gone out of her way to purchase her apartment in Kanagawa, far away from the schools connected to anyone in her family. That was why she was in for a big surprise. Despite all her efforts, she was destined to meet a familiar face. One that would definitely notice the absence of her sports bag and try to draw her back into the world of tennis. Rihomi had unwittingly signed up for a confrontation with the very issue she was trying to run away from when she had filled the form for Rikkai Daigakuen. Back in her apartment, her tennis bag fell down with a thump and a tennis ball rolled out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Prince of Tennis, Ice Princess of Rikkaidai or any other wonderful work that inspired me. **I will try to keep it **as **original** as I can but I would like to thank the authors who created wonderful connections between certain characters like Bunta and femryo's friendship and certain others that have become canon for femryo in my head, and apologise for using those relationships.

**A/N:** I have been reading fanfiction for years but this is the first time I have written a fic. Grammar is a personal weakness of mine so please forgive me if I mess up. I fell in love with the visage of Marui Bunta during his doubles match with Kite against high schoolers in Shin Prince of Tennis. I never really appreciated his looks before that.

In the summary I called Riho an OC as well as femryoma simply because as much as I love genderbending, I think it irrevocably detracts something from the character and it cannot be considered canon anymore. For example, a female ryoma would probably be more sensible and romantically aware than canon. A girl would probably not be blind to a crush as blatant as Sakuno's. Basically we make her the way we want her to be, give her a different name, perhaps change her age etc. How is that Ryoma? He is not a boy, does not have the exact same personality(its not as much a case of Ooc as one of 'what is in character'). A character who deviates so much from the norm could be considered an OC. I wanted her to be Bunta's age and see her react to a younger brother so I am calling her an OC. She could still be considered femryo…..loosely.

**Chapter One: Familiar Faces**

It was a completely normal day at Rikkaidai. The sun was shining, birds were flying in the sky, students were streaming in, and the bell was tolling. The last students trickled in before the gate closed. While Rihomi had been making her way to school, the rumour mill had already started working overtime to spread the news of the transfer student from America. Students across the school were wondering about the new student. The tennis regulars were no exception.

Yanagi Renji held up his notebook and declared, '' There is a 98.91% chance that the new student is a girl based on the name registered unless it is a boy whose parents have chosen an extremely feminine name for their son. The name also indicates that the student is atleast half-Japanese and…'' his voice trailed off into inaudible mumbles. A silver haired boy exchanged a mischievous glance with a redhead who was chewing bubblegum. ''Hope she's pretty!'' they exclaimed together. Their doubles partners exchanged exasperated glances and tried to divert their attention before Niou could convince Marui to go and greet the new girl in a way that would probably traumatise the poor girl. Their captain and vice- captain were the only ones not thinking about the new girl. Yukimura was busy drawing up a training regime for times in the future when he would be hospitalized for treatment, wishing not for the first time for a capable coach or student manager that would take some of the burden of Genichirou's shoulders. The latter was stoic as usual, not concerned with trivial matters unrelated to tennis, itching to shout 'Tarundarou' at the gossiping members of the tennis was class 3-A.

A floor below, a teacher and the new girl were walking towards the classroom of the final curly haired boy had overslept and barely entered in time. He was slumped over his desk in class 2-A, not paying attention to the whispers of his classmates. He was lost in the euphoria of his wonderful dream that had made him late. He blissfully closed his eyes and tried to picture the last scene of his dream- the scoreboard that proved that he had played against Sanada-fukubuchou and won. A little drool escaped his lips as he thought about the wonderful dream. He was snapped out of his stupor by the teacher's entrance. Sensei wasted no time in taking attendance and announced to the class, ''As you all must have heard, we have a new student from America. She has demonstrated perfect knowledge of Japanese but she has grown up with different customs so please act appropriately and help her adjust. Due to the difference in the education system, she will be attending some classes like Japanese Literature with you and the rest with students of her age in class 3-A. You may enter Takagawa-san.''

Rihomi entered the class, feeling a little discomfited by the stares. She could handle the curious glances, but the blatant ogling of the male population was slightly annoying. She almost wished that years of tennis had not made her body tanned and lithe so that it seemed almost exotic in comparison to the creamy skin of the average Japanese girl. Her long black hair, shining with a greenish tint in the sun as well as her unique eyes with golden flecks in the iris only enhanced her beauty. If a Seigaku student had seen her, he or she would probably have been surprised by the resemblance between her and their newest regular. Alas, this observation would not be made for a long time for the only daughter of the Echizens had been very cautious in concealing her past and that was one of the reasons for her decision to avoid Seigaku. Rihomi had even gone as far as to fill some forms to legally use her mother's maiden name for her apartment and school enrollment. It was too unfortunate that all her efforts to run away from her past and tennis would be thwarted as soon as she stepped into 3-A. For now, she was going to meet the youngest regular and sophomore ace, Kirihara Akaya.

/

Kirihara Akaya was not staring at the new girl. He really wasn't checking out her curves like most of the other boys. He did deserve his nickname Devil Kirihara on court but he was quite likable off the court once one got used to his rude attitude. He had a very childish personality that only the Regulars had witnessed, earning him his other nickname, Aka-chan, that was a secret shared by the tennis club. His life completely revolved around tennis, sleep and his team so it was not surprising that he was not really interested in the new girl and looked out of the window after noticing her lean musculature that hinted towards an involvement in sports. He was shocked and only slightly annoyed when the teacher, noting his disinterest and the overt interest of the rest of the other boys, made him Rihomi's desk partner and guide.

Today was one of the rare(read: never) days when morning practice had been cancelled, allowing him to sleep in and have that wonderful dream, so Akaya had been caught in a rare good mood. That was probably the only reason that his mild annoyance at the inconvenience vanished and he began to think about the tour he would give the new girl. He would only show her his favorite places of course, like the amazing tennis courts. Hopefully, the girl would have some sense and appreciate the wonders of tennis. He would have to take her to 3-A after this. Perhaps he could introduce her to his sempai-tachi. He was sure that the data specialist would be very interested in her. Perhaps Niou-sempai and Marui-sempai would like to meet her too. He had no idea how right he was.

After the first period ended, he introduced himself to the new girl- again since the teacher had done it the first time and bluntly told her, '' I'll drop you to your classroom now and show you around later but I won't bother with someone who isn't interested in tennis. Being a fangirl is alright too, I guess. We do have an amazing team- came first in the nationals last year, you know. So? Do you play?''

Rihomi laughed at his obvious enthusiasm but her smile faded a little as she considered his question. '' I used to play,'' she said with a sad, almost wistful smile. Shaking off the nostalgia, she asked him to show her the way to her next class with the seniors.

Ignoring their other classmates who had flocked around the desk and eavesdropped shamelessly, she stood up and made her way out of class. Akaya followed her and started boasting about his team-''Did you know our school has the highest ranking for tennis? We have some of the best school level players in the country. Buchou and fukubuchou are so good that they could easily go pro. There's the library. They call Yukimura-buchou The Demigod. He's do good that nobody can beat him. Even I can't although I'm the Sophomore Ace. Our best singles players are called the Three Demons and even I can't beat them though I keep trying. Someday I'm gonna beat all of them and be the best player there is. The bathrooms are that our doubles pairs are the best in the nation…..''

Akaya had pointed out various parts of the school during the impromptu tour and trailed off when he reached class 3-A. ''You're lucky you are in this class. All the other regulars are in it. I can even introduce you to them. But please don't go all fangirly on them. I know girls can't help it – they are very good looking but it gets annoying after a while.''

Rihomi gave him an amused glance and said, ''I'll try my best not to swoon and fall at the feet of your incredibly handsome sempais. After you." Kirihara went in first. His loud voice could be heard excitedly telling his sempai-tachi everything he knew about her, which wasn't very much. She stayed outside the classroom for a moment to collect her thoughts. This was it. Her interaction with her classmates would probably serve as an important first impression for the rest of her agemates. This would probably make or break her school experience in Japan. No pressure. She hadn't bothered to act friendly with her kouhais in 2-A because she really didn't care although Kirihara had been alright. His immaturity and complete fixation with tennis didn't bother her as it would bother a regular person. She was quite used to such an attitude. It sort of reminded her of her brother….and father….well pretty much every male in the family. Brushing those thoughts aside, she stepped into the classroom, and noticed the regulars immediately. As her gaze fell upon a certain regular, she broke her promise to Kirihara and gasped. Her eyes wide she stumbled backwards, not looking away from the awestruck glance of the boy that she was staring at incredulously.

The resident data expert noted the expression on the boy's face and muttered in a voice loud enough to carry through the suddenly silent classroom, '' 77.8% chance that Marui has a crush on the new girl.'' It was really a day for setting precedents. Morning practice had been cancelled, Akaya had been friendly and helpful, and it was time for them all to witness another first. Marui Bunta, who could chew through an entire pack of gum in a match, choked on his bubblegum.

Despite all her efforts to have a fresh start in a place where she was a not known by anybody, Rihomi stood before an all-too familiar face.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **thank you for giving this story a chance. It really means a lot to me. I noticed some grammatical errors when I went through the previous chaper. I really feel bad about not proofreading it. I will try to be more careful. Although it would be easier if someone offered to Beta it…..PM me if you are interested…..

20th April, 2013…..HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUNTA!...A perfect reunion chaper for this special day.

**To nemesisswan:** I appreciate your honesty and for giving this a chance...i know the childhood friend part is cliche as a lot of relationships in this story are, but that is because i need the childhood friend thing to accelerate the pace of their relationship...i really would get sick of writing the story from a point where the two main characters are strangers. i really need that old connection to be there in order to emphasize how close they are. They have a very special bond that i will enjoy developing. Remember that the other stories usually potray them as friends and pair her with seiichi ...anyway i agree that this is cliche, but wouldn't you agree that the new girl who is good at tennis falls in love with a tennis regular she meets at her new school is actually more cliched? Yet it is featured in every femryo story...I don't think I have it in me to write about a world where Riho and Bunta are strangers...if you pay attention you will notice that he is the only one who can call her Riho...its his special nickname for her...everyone else will call her something else

**Chapter 2**

Well, Rihomi mused, it couldn't be said that his face was extremely familiar. It had changed a lot since they were kids. However, certain distinguishing features like his bright red hair, eyes and _that expression _were all the same. Enough for her to recognize her childhood best friend with a single glance despite not having seen him in years. He had obviously been playing tennis with great dedication. That much was obvious. She mentally sighed as she realized that all her efforts to escape, to avoid tennis were nullified by his very presence. Here was a person who would notice the lack of a racquet in her hand and comment on it. Bunta wasn't one to shy away from awkward topics or care about frivolities like tact, especially not when it concerned someone close to him. Rihomi mentally sighed and braced herself for his inevitable barrage of questions that would venture into sensitive areas and soon enough he managed to stop choking and incredulously sputter, ''Riho? How? What are you doing here?…."

He trailed off and seemed to take in her uniform and its implications. Shaking his head, he jumped off the desk he had previously been perched on and quickly made his way to the front of the classroom, coming to stand right in front of her. A small smile curled on her lips as she realized that despite the complications he would bring, despite the fact that he would not allow her to forget about tennis as she had intended, she did not mind his intrusion into her life. She'd always had a soft spot for him and could not help but secretly welcome his reappearance into her life. That was probably what made her beam at him and throw her arms around his neck and initiate the hug that, if his tightly woven arms around her waist were any indication, he had been about to give.

/

Marui Bunta had cycled through a lot of emotions in the past minute. He had been caught off guard by Riho's entrance. He could barely believe that she was right in front of him at first and had looked at her with an expression of wonder, hoping against all hope that this was not a beautiful dream. Oh yes, the years had only enhanced the beauty of the girl standing before him, if she were real. A small part of him prayed for her to have remained unchanged. He did not think he could bear it if this girl in front of him was not his Riho, and hoped that the Riho he had known all those years ago was still present beneath the pretty face. He could feel the shock of his classmates pervading in the air, as if it was a tangible entity. He knew he should feel embarrassed because he- Marui Bunta- had choked on his favourite lemon flavoured gum. He had also heard Yanagi's comment (_if only he knew_) but the only emotion he could feel after the shock had faded into the realization of a pleasant surprise was delight. He had only been waiting for this moment for five years and eleven months, which incidentally was the exact duration of their separation.

It was not a surprising then, when he rushed to crush her to his chest. His eyes must have flickered with hesitation for a moment as the thought that Riho may not consider him her best friend anymore crossed his mind. He should have known that his extremely perceptive friend would pick up on that. _She had always been able to read him like a book. Although he had to admit, their understanding _had_ been mutual._ He really shouldn't have doubted the strength of their bond because Riho directed _that smile_ at him. The special one that was reserved for him and always managed to allay his fears and never failed to reassure him. His hands were rising, almost lifted of their own volition in order to embrace her, when she leaped into them and wound her slender but strong arms around his neck.

He really couldn't help himself. He wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug before lowering them to her waist and squeezing her closer. He denied the impulse to bury his head in her hair and chose to lighten the atmosphere instead by lifting her a little and swinging her around, eliciting a surprised laugh out of her. He finally let go of her with great reluctance, stepping back to see her face reflect the wide grin he could feel splitting across his own face.

A/N: here is the second half:

The flabbergasted expressions of all the other students would have been funny if Rihomi and Bunta were not completely absorbed in each other. They were only made aware of their surprised audience when Kirihara could take it no longer and blurted out, ''Wait! You two already know each other?"

The other regulars also reacted in a predictable manner. Yukimura's eyes developed an amused glint that made Sanada, who knew him very well, try to subtly edge away from him. Yanagi Renji immediately began to mumble in a semi-audible voice and quickly scribbled the new data into his ever-present notebook. Niou started sporting a mischievous expression that made his partner feel extremely wary, so Yagyuu tried to distract him by responding to Kirihara's silly question. '' Its quite obvious that they do," he replied in his driest voice, giving Kirihara an _are-you-an-idiot _look.

Perhaps Kuwahara Jackal was the one most affected by the sudden display of affection. He was Bunta's doubles partner and that had created a strong friendship between the two players. After all, you had to get along well with someone in order to know them well enough to read their next move and back them up. The fact that they were one of the best pairs in the country said quite a lot about their teamwork and closeness. So he was completely taken aback by Bunta's uncharacteristic behavior around the new girl. He knew his doubles partner like the back of his hand and he knew that despite his exuberant personality (that was probably a result of his extremely high sugar intake), Bunta would not have reacted like that in the presence of a mere friend. No, this girl definitely meant a lot to Bunta and Jackal could not help but wonder if Yanagi's earlier comment had a kernel of truth in it. It only took him a couple of seconds to process this epiphany so he schooled his wide-eyed, slack-jawed expression and decided to take a step back and observe the unfolding drama.

Meanwhile, some particularly loud fangirls seemed ready to intervene and create a scene…ahem….a bigger scene that is. They were silenced by a warning glare from a pretty brunette who was the only girl that had smiled and taken the sudden and surprising interaction between one of the most popular boys and the transfer in stride. She looked around and found a kindred spirit in a pair of blue eyes that seemed to be equally bemused. They belonged to the only boy in class, apart from the regulars, who did not appear to be disappointed to see the beautiful new student in the arms of Marui. All eyes snapped back to the pair who seemed to have mutually decided to ignore their audience and turn back to each other despite Kirihara's interruption.

/

Bunta had finally placed Rihomi down and she couldn't help but voice an observation that had fleetingly passed through her head earlier and had been strongly reinforced by the hug. '' You must have been playing a lot of tennis over the years,'' she stated. Startled, Bunta asked, '' Well, yes I have….but what makes you say that?"

Rihomi couldn't help but giggle at his adorably confused expression. Of course, she could read him well enough to detect the subtle inquiry in his tone and the hints of wariness in his eyes. Bunta knew her too well to think that her statement had been an innocuous comment. Riho didn't make careless remarks. Most of her innocent sentences often had a deeper meaning or they were deliberately designed to lead to the conversation in a specific direction. Both of them were extremely aware of this i.e. Rihomi was aware of the fact that Bunta knew this.

Rihomi's face took on a teasing expression as she told him, '' Well, I somehow doubt that _you_ could have stopped consuming ridiculously large amounts of sugar everyday. Pigs would fly before the day comes when you don't consume inhumanely large portions of sweets. So the only logical explanation is that you have been playing tennis for you to have developed this body." She gestured toward his perfectly fit body as she said that.

/

Bunta finally realized where she was going but it was too late to stop her. She was deliberately giving their spectators a chance to misconstrue her words and make false assumptions. It was just like her to purposely use vague words to convey one thing to him and deliberately mislead the listeners into believing that she was flirting with him, strengthening any wrong ideas they must have already developed about the romantic nature of their relationship. Honestly, he didn't really mind that too much; it would be a welcome reprieve from some fans that had been quite overzealous lately. It was his own reaction to her words that irritated him. He couldn't completely stop the embarrassed blush blooming on his cheeks, provoked by her words despite the fact that he knew exactly what she meant.

She was actually making a veiled reference to his childhood. He knew that the last time they had met, his physical appearance had been drastically different. Unbidden, an image of a short, plump red-haired boy with a piece of cake in his chubby hand, holding the hand of an equally short black-haired girl with a tennis racquet, came to mind. Their smiling faces had been perfectly captured by the camera. That picture was one of his favourites and had taken permanent residence in his bedside drawer. He dispelled the image before it took him on a long trip down memory lane in favor of focusing on the present.

In conclusion, he knew exactly what Riho meant and the impression she was quite successfully attempting to give, but that did not stop him from being surprised by her next move.

/

Rihomi was having way too much fun to stop although Bunta seemed to have caught on, and made a move bold enough to startle him. She made an obvious show of slowly dragging her gaze over him from head to toe before commenting, '' Well, I always did tell you that tennis could do wonders for your body, but this is amazing! I must admit that even I am a little surprised with the results." She emphasized her point by poking his biceps and abs, making it hard to misunderstand what she was talking about.

The entire room was filled with an amused ( Yukimura, Yanagi, and the previously mentioned brunette as well as the blue- eyed boy), shocked (Jackal, Kirihara) and scandalized (the fangirls and other classmates) silence before Niou gave into his nagging impulse and burst out laughing.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the delay...I totally blame BajaB and all the other HP writers whose stories I was caught up in today...I have posted the second half of ch 2 so it can be found right below the first part...enjoy...I have a nice idea for the next chapter so I will be up in a day or two depending on when I get around to writing it...reading fics is very distracting...well I really need to go to bed now... its 2:45 am and my shoulders are aching...I missed the 12 am deadline I had set(according to IST) but technically I did make it according to G.M.T...so I don't feel very guilty...well...oyasuminasai!(I've been obsessed with japanese since i discovered anime...)


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys...I was in the middle of the latest chapter when I realised that I have started forgetting important canon info. So I spent a day watching some specials and realised that it has been over a year since I saw/read the canon story. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I simply cannot tolerate that. For instance, my portrayal of Akaya was not very accurate since I implied that his friendliness was due to his good mood but its actually normal for him to behave like that. I got confused between his normal and devil mode. I also made a shocking discovery: Bunta has the most amazing light purple eyes. I wrote three chapters without knowing that. In light of this, I have decided to take a break of another few days to sort out canon info so that I can make my story more factually correct...I had already written ch 3's first part before my decision so I'm posting it here. I know it seems as if I am stuck writing on and on about an interaction that is happening in a few minutes but these emotional reactions and detailed descriptions are important. Its like building a strong foundation. Once I explain how the dynamics of the various relationships in the story work, I will be able to pick up pace in my storytelling and move on past this one day into the canon-compliant timeline...which will take a lot of research as I don't recall details.

By the way, does anyone have OC ideas for me...I'm getting tired of calling them the pretty brunette girl and blue-eyed boy. I need ideas for the name, personality, history, etc of one boy and one girl...some decent ideas would save time since I'm going to be busy with my research...remember, they have already shown hints of being calm, observant and amused by the drama. Alright...I don't really need help with the personalities...I'm just scared of naming them...I'm not very good with Japanese names...and I only named my character Rihomi so that Bunta could call her Riho...that speaks for itself...anyway this is it for now.

**Chapter 3**

Niou's laughter startled Bunta and brought him out of daze he had entered. Shaking his head at Riho's antics he couldn't resist telling her, ''You haven't changed a bit. Its almost a relief to see that you're still the same." Her eyes told him that his words had struck a nerve. A look of pain flashed across her face so fleetingly that he barely caught it.

Rihomi was unable to control her expression completely and knew that her friend had caught a small glimpse of her suffering. No matter how hard she tried to act cheerfully and pretend that nothing was wrong, it was moments like this that dragged her out of her denial and forced her to confront the pain. Her right hand automatically moved to brush her fingers against her left elbow, tracing an invisible wound. The gesture was reflexive. There was no visible mark left to signify any injury; not anymore.

His words were quite ironic, she thought. He had no idea how much she had changed and it seemed like he would find out soon if she wasn't careful. She shook her head to dispel her dark thoughts and replied, unable to keep the subtle bitterness out of her tone, ''No, things have changed a lot. Just not in observable ways. Nothing can stay the same." Rihomi was trying to convey to him that she had lost her naïveté over the years and she was not the innocent, cheerful girl he had once known. Her personality was slightly different now. Other than Bunta, who could read her like an open book, certain perceptive observers such as Yukimura could also sense her darkened mood.

Bunta perfectly understood what she was trying to tell him in her own way but he also had an answer for her. He would not let her continue to wallow in her bitterness. He didn't move his unwavering, unflinching glance from her face, as if to show her that _no matter how much she changed, he would never look at her differently_. He was not going to back off just because his best friend had become more cynical than he remembered. He told her the words he secretly felt she needed to hear, phrased in a way that it seemed like he was simply bantering with her. It was only the rare gravity in his tone that indicated the seriousness behind his words. He said, "You may be right in saying that some things in life do change, but its also true that some can things never change, no matter how much people pretend they have."

Bunta couldn't have known how strongly his words affected her. Her eyes widened a little, before visibly softening. Her expression became gentler and a fond smile started curling over her lips as she sighed in a defeated manner. Even as she allowed his infectious grin to drag her away from her heavy mood, his words were still ringing in her ears, amplified by her subconscious mind. _Some things can never change. Your attitude may have changed but some essential parts of you will never change, even if you pretend they have. No matter how much you try, you can never delude yourself into believing that your feelings for tennis have changed. You may have stopped playing the game, but the part of you that loves tennis will never change. No matter how hard you try to avoid it, you cannot stop loving tennis._


End file.
